Insurgency features intense firefights that take place in a current timeline that draws inspiration from recent wars in Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East. The game focuses on delivering an ultra realistic take on the first-person shooter genre that will make fans of the original mod feel right at home. Players die in only a couple of shots, so running in guns a blazing will inevitably end in countless deaths. Tactical shooting is encouraged since gunfire can easily give away the player's position, and it's always a plus to be aware of the surroundings as well. Camping isn't encouraged in the game, since there is almost always an objective that needs to be captured in most modes, but it always pay to be extra cautious and prone out of enemy sights or peek around the corner before entering into a new part of a building.
It was difficult to come up with words to describe the time spent with Insurgency, because the game is plenty of fun, but it doesn't do many revolutionary things for the crowded first-person genre to set it above some more noteworthy releases. Class-based combat is included in the game with each class coming equipped with a predetermined set of firearms and grenades, but the game also features plenty of customization options that works on a point system. If you want to have the best primary weapons, it will cost points towards your limit to add armor piercing bullets and a holographic scope, so you'll likely be giving up your own armor or selling a grenade to make it happen. The normal range of weapons is included in the game such as pistol sidearms, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and sniper rifles, and light-machine guns were added to the game in a recent update as well.
One thing that sets Insurgency apart from other shooters in the industry is in how New World Interactive handles the scopes on weapons. The game features larger gun models that allow the player to more accurately judge where a shot will land when firing from the hip, but there is enough discrepancy from where bullets ultimately land, whether the player is scoped or not, to prevent players from "no-scoping" and using similar exploits in the game. The scopes themselves are always zoomed as well, even when not aimed down the sights. While scopes are being used, the environment around the scope never changes or zooms with the scope and helps to create a more realistic and immersive experience.
Insurgency is a nice looking game even in its early beta form. Character models, lighting and other visible features in the game produce good results even on low PC settings, and the game's maps are all fairly large and varied. There are eight maps in the game that are used for both cooperative sessions and competitive multiplayer matches, though cooperative sessions will mostly be overlooked thanks to inconsistent AI that have trouble being aware of their surroundings at times and will make short work of players out of nowhere randomly as well. Checkpoint and Hunt are the game modes for cooperative play, while versus multiplayer modes are Battle, Firefight, Push and Skirmish that allow for up to 32 players in a single session. Each mode focuses on capturing objectives to gain additional reinforcements which are respawns of friendly players, and our favorite mode during early play testing was Skirmish that starts each team with 0 reinforcements to really ratchet up the game's intensity.
For the most part, Insurgency is an entertaining game that doesn't do a lot for the genre, but it's still a fun play with friends. The main issues in the game stem from the numerous bugs that pop up during matches though. Games will often freeze up or end for no apparent reason, and several crashes occurred while test playing the game. It's also not unusual for other glitches to pop up and ruin the experience, and these aren't limited to graphical problems. There have even been rumors in the community about players modding or cheating the game, though we never encountered these problems on our own. Needless to say, New World Interactive is aware of the many problems with Insurgency and are working every day with the community to help resolve any issues with their game. It's still a bit difficult to fully recommend a game that has so many unfixed problems, but first-person shooter fans will definitely want to follow the development of the game and decide if Insurgency is worth its $20 asking price. Check out Insurgency only on Steam today!
Insurgency is now available in beta exclusively for PC via Steam and can be purchased for $19.99. Insurgency is not yet rated. For more information on the game, check out the official Insurgency website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: New World Interactive
Available exclusively for PC via Steam
Release Date: TBD